Long to be a Fashion Writer?

If you’re a regular reader of personal fashion/lifestyle blogs, chances are you’ve scrolled through blogs with a highly established following and come across posts centered around a lovely but very basic skinny-jeans-and-heels outfit (or a simple dress, like mine!), or maybe skimmed though a truly tried-and-true green smoothie recipe (you know, the kind we all mastered with our first Nutribullets years ago) and thought to yourself: “I could have easily written that. How has she cultivated that kind of following?!”…. Shameless confession: I know I have!

When pressed for tips, many influences express that “content and consistency is key” and most admit to having entered the space at an opportune, less crowded time. But even so, these entrepreneurial writers invariably implemented a very broad array of business/marketing/tech-based strategies to extend their efforts and build their brands. Being a blogger is incredibly hard work—and given that many readers are bloggers themselves, I know you you know what I mean. Aspiring influencers shoulder tremendous costs: from website hosting, themes, development add-ons, social icons, paid plugins, Facebook ads, SEO manuals, Photoshop fees….And of course, the highest price of all: hours upon hours upon hours figuring out what on Earth we’re doing…and how to embed that silly but apparently indispensable Pinterest link.

I hate the idea that so many of us are spending so much of our lives re-creating the wheel and building entire websites and readerships from scratch…when all we really want to do is contribute to a likeminded community, and be compensated for the time, effort and energy we happily put in. I really do believe we could create something even more beautiful (and with much less hair pulling!) if we were to join forces and share together on a magazine-style platform. But does one with the breezy, casual-but-very-chic feel of a luxe lifestyle blog exist? I’m not satisfied with the (lack of) refinement of Refinery 29; and while I love Goop and Net-a-porter editorial, their content is written by full-time staff-writers who themselves receive little by way of limelight. In the interim, I would be honored to contribute to your site as a guest post if you’d have me. Let’s collab.

Personally, I am committed to discovering (and even building!) chic platforms and communities where the contribution process is fair and transparent; you shouldn’t have to put in slave-labor hours at an internship at a traditional glossy magazine in order to reach a community of glamorous, culturally-curious women around the world. I would love to learn about your experiences as an aspiring fashion writer, so please drop a comment with your email below!

I’m currently setting meetings with power people in my network to brainstorm ways to do this —so please get on my list so I know where to send tip sheets as soon as I create them!! Let’s make dreams reality, together.

Comments

This is actually a really great post! I’ve been blogging on and off since 2007, but only regularly in the past 2 years. I wish back then I would’ve put more effort into things because it’s definitely harder to create a loyal readership these days!
I do love the challenge though, in some ways. Although I wish I could have a tech whizz on hand at all times hahaha. That’s definitely the part I struggle with the most.
Would love to see a community where we could all contribute content. I think there are a bunch of them around already, but none that really appeal to me – yet.

Christel, thanks so much for your super thoughtful comment!! Yes, I agree there are a bunch of sites to upload content….but I’m really longing for an online magazine that allows to take credit where it’s due while sharing a larger readership and reach! There needs to be some kind of curation/application process to make sure we’re all on the same (chic!) page, but I believe in being inclusive and encouraging, rather than cut-throat. We can totally all win! xo

You’re so right! Why to try inventing the wheel once again. It would be wonderful to belong to a creative community and get feedback. Working alone can make us a bit blind and feeling we are not getting anywhere.

I love your goals! Getting the right community is so difficult; there is so much competition that it is hard to stand out from the crowd. I have found that many times the best communities for writers are not actually the large content-curation groups, but smaller organic movements like the 30 day challenge (how else would I have found your site?).

Not a fashion writer, but it’s been a process being a writer for a blog. I’ve learned so many things in less than a year and believe that my writing skills have gotten a little better, thanks to the help of fellow bloggers!

Unfortunately, you can’t contribute to an already existing community, unless you prove yourself in the long term and become part of the community. Blogging is indeed lots of hard work.
Good luck on your journey!

love the idea, collabing is a great way to help each other out! I have a few guest bloggers appear on my site from time to time and I think it’s great (mines not a fashion blog, but Fridays are my free-write days were I can put guest writers on for ANY topic!)
Well I must add… I love how honest this post is, consistency is key to succeeding in the blogging world AND that is difficult and very time consuming… I do agree with you!
I wish you well on your blogging journey… keep up the good work!

It’s stort blogging is a hard work, which is not involved writing alone but also, business marketing and tech-based strategies. I like your idea that you stated to find “chic platforms and communities where the contribution process is fair and transparent.”

Blogging is a hard work, which is not involved writing alone but also, business marketing and tech-based strategies. I like your idea that you stated to find “chic platforms and communities where the contribution process is fair and transparent.”